


the house down the road, the house that waits

by dontfanficandrivefolks



Series: of alchemy and automail [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Childhood Friends to Lovers, F/F, also theres rosebird in this if you squint, and yang is shorter, for logic reasons taiyang doesnt exist, i just wanted to write automail mechanic!blake and state alchemist!yang, loosely based fma au i guess, might make this a series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:40:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27143962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dontfanficandrivefolks/pseuds/dontfanficandrivefolks
Summary: When Yang and Ruby get into a fight that leaves them broken, they have no choice other than to visit their long time mechanic - and childhood best friend who they haven't seen in four years - for repairs.(An fma au in which Yang and Ruby are state alchemists and work for the military and Blake is an automail mechanic and built Yang's arm and leg.)
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long
Series: of alchemy and automail [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2035609
Comments: 2
Kudos: 41





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> so i wrote a fic. its a very loosely(and i mean very loosely) based fma au. pls enjoy :)))

As Yang walked down the dirt path to Blake's house, she felt nothing but dread. _Blake's gonna kill me_ , Yang thought to herself. Her long time childhood friend became super hot-headed when it came to broken machinery, - _especially_ mechanical limbs- Yang knew she was delusional for thinking Blake would think otherwise. 

It's not like Yang wanted to come home with broken automail, she can't help it if she gets into a fight and accidentally shatters her entire right arm. Blake shouldn't be too mad, _right_????

Yang felt like Blake would be reasonable with her, seeing that Yang hasn't come home for repairs in like 4 years. That's like, a record for her. The last time she came up for repairs was a year after her automail rehabilitation therapy. 

"You seem down Yang," Major Hill told her. "I'm not, I'm just thinking," Yang replied. "Don't worry about Yang too much, she's afraid that Blake will rip her a new one for the automail," a voice from the suit of metal armor in the box Major Hill carried, spoke.

"Ruby, you don't understand, Blake's gonna kill me and you!" Yang exclaimed. Major Hill chuckled, "Not a dull moment with you two, is there ?" Yang rolled her eyes groaned. She was so dead, Ruby was half broken and Yang herself was missing an arm. Blake was surely gonna give the Branwen-Rose sisters hell.

Blake's yellow countryside house finally came into view,Yang could see a small dog and an old woman sitting on the front porch. She smiled. "Hey Maria! We're home!" Yang greeted the old woman.

Maria Calavera was long time family friend of the Belladonnas and the Branwen-Roses. She was drinking buddies with Ghira and Raven; and was even Yang, Blake, and Ruby's midwife. She was Blake's grandfather's apprentice, and now co-runs the Belladonna Family Automail Service with Blake. Maria also became Blake's caretaker when her parents died in the war, and she also helped raised Yang and Ruby after Summer died. 

"BLAKE! Our regulars are here!" Maria shouted. "My, you both seem pretty banged up, what on earth have you done know?" The old woman asked.

Yang smirked. "Nothing much, Just a little fight that's all, this is Major Robyn Hill by the way," Yang watched as the old woman shook hands with the Major. "I'm Maria Calavera, I helped raise these girls,"She said. "I hope they didn't cause you any trouble." Major Hill chuckled as she placed the box Ruby was in on the ground.

"These girls are just fine, they can hold their own," Hill replied. Maria smiled and turned to Yang, "Is it just me or did you grow even smaller since the last i saw you," the old woman quipped. Yang's eyes went wide with surprise and irritation.

 _That woman, I'm gonna run her to her grave before old age does._ Yang gave the elderly woman a fake smile. "Who you calling _small_ ?" Yang gritted her teeth. The old woman only smiled before provoking her any further.

"You heard me, _pipsqueak_!"

" _Oh_ I'll show you, _half-pint hag_!" 

"What did you just call me? Why _you little runt_!" 

Yang wasn't even paying attention to see the other teenage girl storming out of the balcony's doors. "HEY YANG!" Yang turned in the direction of the voice only to be met with a _THUNK._ Her face immediately flushed up in embarrassment and pain once she realized the object was a wrench and who it belonged to.

"How many times do I have to tell you to call before coming over for maintenance?!"Blake called. Yang rubbed her head in annoyance. _This girl really gets on my damn nerves._ "Blake, you jerk! Are you trying to kill me ?" Yang grumbled.

The other teenage girl in coveralls only smiled and laughed. "Welcome Back!" Blake replied cheerfully, not angry with Yang at all. "It's good to be back!" Ruby yelled back at Blake. 

"Yeah, Right." Yang mumbled, she just wanted this maintenance trip to go smoothly without getting Blake mad, and quickly so she could get back to her mission.

_"WHAAAAA-?!"_ Blake screamed. She definitely made Blake mad. Blake clutched the tiny strips of metal and loose bolts of what remained of Yang's automail in her hands with anguish. "Yeah, sorry about that. It's broken," The blonde said nonchalantly. 

The other teenage girl just sighed and held her forehead in her hands. " _What_ do you _mean_ it got _broken_? That was my latest masterpiece, it was a state-of-the-art automail prosthetic!" Blake cried in distress. 

The lilac-eyed girl sighed. "Yeah well, when I said 'broken', I meant 'smashed to pieces', sorry," Yang excused. The amber eyed girl only narrowed her eyes before punching the shorter girl out of the chair. "Jeez, whatever! Just let me see how damaged it is!" Blake resigned. Yang winced rubbed the spot were her right arm would be.

"Y'know that wasn't very ladylike of you," Yang scoffed. Blake rolled her eyes and straightened the bandanna she was wearing. "Says the one wearing leather pants," the mechanic laughed. Yang brushed off the dirt of her pants and stood up. "I think they look cool!" Yang argued. 

"Yeah, for a silly little state alchemist!" Blake cockily replied. Yang couldn't even get back at her for the short comment because she had already turned around and sighed at the remains of Ruby's armor. Ruby sat in the corner of the workshop, watching them squabble in silence.

(Ruby always watched them in silence, even when they were kids, she thought it was always best to wait until they were at each other's throats to intervene. But right now, it felt like the old times when Ruby still had her body and Yang had her limbs, and when Blake still had parents; so she relished it.)

"And Ruby's all broken too?" Blake sighed again. Ruby's right arm and legs were missing and half of her chest cavity was exposed. The fight they had with the scar-faced Ishvalan was pretty rough. If it had not been for not been the Colonel stepping in, Yang's pretty sure they would've died.

"All you two do is worry me," Blake shook her head. Blake made an expression that Yang couldn't read, but then Blake smiled. "Maria's gonna be in soon, so get undressed so we can take a look at your leg too!" Blake told her with that special glint in her only reserved for mechanics.

 _Great, now I have to deal with the not-so-fun part,_ the blonde thought to herself. Having Blake take a look at her automail was so exhausting as the other girl would freak over it for ages. 

A few moments later, Maria entered the room when Yang got herself situated. As Blake and the older women inspected her automail, Yang explained her current mission. "I see, so you're trying to get to Central to collect data on this ‘Philosopher's Stone’ as soon as possible?" Maria asked. Yang nodded, "We're really in a rush."

Maria reached over to Yang's feet and compared the two limbs. "Hm, obviously after we rebuild your arm, but we'll need to readjust your leg too, it seems," The old woman confirmed. Blake made a sly smile and leaned over Yang and whispered, "It seems you did grow a few inches." Yang rolled her eyes. 

"Your leg can still be used, but your arm has to be rebuilt from scratch," The old woman continued. Yang's face went pale, "How long will that take? A week?" she asked. Maria took a breath. "Don't underestimate me, Yang, it'll be ready in three days." She scoffed. Yang smiled. "You're gonna have to use a spare in the meantime though," Maria explained. 

"Man, it's gonna be a little hard walking on a leg I'm not used to," the alchemist mumbled. She looked over to Blake who held Yang's prosthetic leg in her arm and was counting her fingers on her other hand. The dark-haired girl let out an exasperated sigh.

"After I crafted the parts, I have to assemble everything. Then there's all the connections to check and adjustments to make. And It'll take three days so that's about three all-nighters. _Ugh,_ this is going to be so rough," The mechanic complained.

Yang frowned. "I'm sorry about that, I don't mean to cause you any trouble," She apologized. She felt guilty that Blake would lose sleep over her. The other girl turned around and gave Yang a confident smirk. 

"It's no big deal! You need to get to Central as quick as possible right? Well let's see what i can do!" Blake reassured her. The blonde stood there in mild shock and blushed a little. Blake was kinda cute when she got all determined. 

_Cute? Since when is Blake cute? She is so not cute,_ Yang thought to herself. "But it's gonna cost you extra for a rush-fee!" The mechanic chirped. Yang groaned and blew her a raspberry. _Yeah she's definitely not cute,_ the blonde thought again.

Yang went outside to sit in the grass with Ruby. Major Hill was chopping wood for Granny Maria. Yang groaned and lied down in the grass. She watched Zwei run around. "Three days is gonna be so boring!" She complained. Ruby sighed and watched her older sister sulk. 

"If you're so bored, maybe you should visit Mom's grave ?" The suit of armor suggested. Yang turned her head towards her sister. "Visit her grave, huh? But you can't come with because of your current condition, that's not very fair," Yang said. 

"I really don't want ask the Major to carry me, so I think I'm good staying here, but I think you should really go," Ruby told her. Yang nodded and looked up at the sky. Maybe it would be nice to visit her mother's grave. Yang got up to go inside the house to get dressed and take Zwei with her. 

Not long after Yang had left, Major Hill carried Ruby inside along with all the wood she had chopped for Maria. The Major had placed the teenaged suit of armor in the workshop so Ruby could keep Blake company. Then the Major herself went upstairs to chat with Maria. 

Maria was sitting down at the table working on Yang's leg. The old woman shot the blonde moled Major a look. "I know what you're thinking," Maria started. Hill rose a brow at her.

"And what's that?" 

"You're probably wondering where their parents are, at least the girls' other mother, I mean," 

"They have another mother?" 

"The other woman in the family photo, the one in the center of the cork board,"

Major Hill glanced over to cork board. There was a photo where she saw a smiling brunette woman with red tips holding a small child. Next to her, stood a woman with dark clothes holding another child. 

The woman’s face was covered. Hill had enough sense to know that the children were Yang and Ruby, and the smiling woman was their mother who the failed to bring back from the dead. 

“Yeah, I guess I do wonder where she is, did she die too? Or did she leave ,” Hill told the older woman. Maria made a chuckling sound. 

“Raven was always such and odd one, She was an old dinking buddy of mine, she left before Summer died, though,” She explained. Hill nodded. 

“Where is she now?” 

“Who knows? She could be dead now, she doesn’t even know what happened to Summer or the girls,” 

“Huh? She doesn’t know?” 

“Raven is hard to contact, she travels a lot and it’s hard to write or call without knowing her whereabouts,” Maria sighed. 

Hill slouched. It must’ve been a rough life for those girls. One mother had left them and never returned, the other had died.

“Anyhow, what kinda life do those to girls leave these days? They never tell me anything,” Maria hummed in curiosity. Hill smiled as she thought about the trouble the Rose sisters cause. 

“The girls have grown quite famous with their alchemy, especially Yang, she’s come to be known as the ‘Fullmetal Alchemist’, “ She told Maria. 

“That fame seems to cause them trouble,” Maria said. 

“Don’t worry about it to much, those sisters are strong,” 

“Strong, huh? I’ve seen how strong they can be” The old woman muttered. Maria saw how strong Yang was when she sacrificed her arm and leg for Ruby four years ago.

She saw how strong Ruby was when she could nothing but watch her older sister take the blunt of their sins of the taboo they committed that night. She wondered where that strength came from. 

Major Hill glanced over to the photo board again. There were other photos of the other young girl, Blake, as a child. There were photos of her and her parents up until recent years. 

“Excuse me, but where would Blake’s parents be?” She asked. Maria tensed up at the innocent question.   
  


“Blake’s parents died in the civil war years ago, they were doctors who were called in because their weren’t that many, and the died when their medical camp was attacked,” Maria whispered.

”Oh,”

”Blake’s father was like a son to me, I was his father’s apprentice, and I raised him after his father died,” Maria paused. 

“Ghira and his wife were like family to me, and I raised Blake while they were away. It’s funny, the war left some people disabled without limbs, you know. So the same war that took our family is the same one that let’s earn our money,” she continued. 

Hill remembered how terrible the war was. She remembered the horrors and the stench of blood, remembered the cries of helpless mothers and children. 

“That war was horrible,” Hill agreed. Maria leaned over in her chair and nodded. The elderly woman checked the clock on the wall.   
  


“It’s almost time for dinner, I guess I’ll need to make extra since you here,” Maria mused. Hill shifted on her feet. 

“That’s not necessary you know,” Hill confessed. Maria scoffed at her. 

“It’s fine. The girls have no where else to stay, one more person won’t do any harm,” 

“What do you mean they have no where else to stay?” 

Maria stared at Hill coldly. 

“The girls burned down there house four years ago,” 

“Huh?”

”I don’t understand why, but I guess without a home they thought that meant no turning back. They were set on going forward,” Maria explained. 

Hill nodded, not really understanding it either. Maria got up from the table to make dinner.

Meanwhile, Yang stood in the graveyard. She stared emptily at the stone marker that read “Summer Rose, 1879-1904”. Zwei barked and and whined at her.

“I guess we should get going, everyone’s waiting for us,” Yang told the dog. She made her way down the road towards the Belladonna’s.   
  
  


  
Two days later, Maria and Blake had finished Yang’s arm and leg. They sat her down on the chair before reconnecting her limbs. 

“Ready? On three,” Maria said.

“One,” Blake counted as she mounted Yang’s arm onto her post.

”Two,” Maria counted, mounting Yang’s leg.

Yang braved her self for the next part. She hated it every time.   
  
“THREE!” Both mechanics yelled, attaching the alchemist’s limbs. The automail made a _krk_ sound, and the female mechanics made sighs of relief.

Yang winced in pain. “OW!” she cried out. This was the worst part for her. “Ohh, I hate that part every time, when the nerves connect,” She complained.   
  
“Don’t be a baby,” Blake laughed. “Move your arm for me,” She ordered. Yang wiggled her shoulder and forearm.   
  
“Right arm is good,” Blake confirmed. Maria nodded. Yang moaned in anguish. 

“Soon I can kiss all this pain goodbye, once I have the Philosopher’s stone, I’ll have my old body back,” Yang boasted. Maria tapped her leg with a wrench. 

“You’re a real money maker, It be a shame,” Maria commented. Blake nodded. 

“That’s right! Automail is cool, why be in such a hurry to return to normal?” The mechanic insisted. Blake stood up and hugged her wrench.

“The smell of oil... the groaning of artificial muscles... the whirring of bearings! And the beautiful form based off the principles of biophysical research? Oh how amazing automail prosthetics are,” Blake swooned. 

Yang stared at her in disgust. Blake was _crazy._ Sherolledher eyes. 

“Typical Gearhead,” Yang spat.

“Alchemy freak!” Blake shot back. Both girls made a huffing sound and stared at each other intensely until Maria was finished with the blonde’s leg.

”All done!” Maria declared. Yang stood up and stretched her leg and arm.   
  
“How is it?” Maria asked. Yang smirked. “Feels great!” She confirmed.

Yang tied up her hair in a braid. “I know you aren’t one to do any maintenance, so this time I used steel with a high percentage of chrome to make it rust-resistant but it’s less durable. So don’t be to rough on it,” Blake explained. 

But Yang was already down the hall. “Hey! Are you even listening!?” The mechanic shouted after her. The blonde was _definitely not_.

Yang went outside where Ruby was sitting in the grass. Yang went to her box and fetched the the cloth that held all of Ruby’s parts. “Is this all of it?” The elder sister asked.

“Yup, the MPs in East City were sure to get all of it,” Ruby said. Hill wandered over to where the younger girls sat. 

“Can you really fix all of this?” Hill inquired. Yang nodded.   
  
“Yes, but there’s a trick to it, see the rune on the inside?”

“Yes, I see,”

“That’s what binds her soul to the armor,” 

“It looks like it was written in blood,” 

“It was written with blood, my blood,” 

Yang wheezed with relief. “That was close one, wasn’t?” 

Ruby nodded her head. “Any closer and it would’ve been all over for me!” 

Yang crouched over the metal pieces. She clapped and pressed her palms to the armor parts. Lightning flashed all over the parts and Ruby’s body.   
  


A few seconds later, Ruby’s body was back together again. Ruby stood up to her full height towering over Yang. Yang reached up and slapped her sister’s chest plate, teasingly.   
  


“Feel better?” Yang asked her. The suit of armor nodded. “I feel way much better,” Ruby told her. The older sister grinned.

“Up to a little sparring match?” The blonde grinned. If a suit of armor could smile, that’s what Ruby did.  
  
When the two girls were finished sparring, they headed inside for dinner. Not long after, Yang fell asleep on the couch with her belly exposed.  
  
Ruby, Maria, and Blake joined her. Ruby stared at her sleeping sister with a unchanging face. “Aw, Yang, you’ll get a cold if you sleep like this,” She whispered. 

“You sound like his parent,” Maria chuckled. Ruby shifted on her feet. “It’s not easy having a high maintenance older sister, y’know,” The younger girl sighed. 

Blake pulled a blanket over Yang. “I can hardly tell who’s the bigger sister you know,” The mechanic teased. 

“How old are you two now anyway?” Maria asked.

”I’m 14, and Sister is 15,” Ruby replied. Blake giggled. The mechanic watched the blonde snore. “She’s so defenseless when she’s sleeping. It’s hard to believe she’s a human weapon and we’re the same age. She’s so tiny!” Blake teased. 

Ruby stared off. “Granny Maria. Blake. Thank you,” She said. The other women gaped in confusion. 

“What’s all the formality for Ruby?” The mechanic wondered. 

“You two always treat us like family, even when we don’t have a home. Yang won’t say it so I will,” The girl in the armor explained.   
  


“We know she’s thankful, you don’t have to say it,” Maria said. Ruby shook her head. 

“Blake. Maria. Thank you.” The suit of armor told them. Blake and Maria nodded in response. They understood what Ruby meant.   
  


The next day. Yang got up early with Ruby and Major Hill. Maria went to see them off. “Thanks for the tune up, Granny,” She told the old woman. 

Ruby looked around. “Where’s Blake?” The suit of armor asked. “Asleep, she did stay up three nights,” Maria explained. 

“Should I wake her up?” She asked. Yang shook her head. “Don’t bother. She’d just nag me about maintenance,” Yang said. 

“All right then, take care you two, and don’t be strangers! Come back for a good homecooked meal, yeah?” The old woman chastised them. 

“We’ll be back,” Ruby promised. Yang shook her head. “You want us to come to the mountains for a meal?” Yang scoffed.   
  
Hill smiled, “Must be nice to ha be a family and home to return to,” she chuckled. Yang made a groan of complaint.   
  
“We drift off from place to place like tumbleweeds,” Yang brushed off. The three began to set off on the walk to the station. 

“Yang! Ruby!”

The three figures stopped and turned in the direction of the voice. Blake stood on the balcony in her nightgown, sleepily looking down on them.   
  
“See you later! Come back soon okay?” Blake told them, waving them off. Yang turned away, secretly smiling. 

“Yeah, sure. Later!” She said back to the mechanic. _Maybe she might come back, after all there were a few good things at Maria’s,_ Yang thought _._

Blake watched the three women walk down the road, disappearing into the horizon. She knew the Branwen-Rose sisters would return, after all The Belladonna Automail Service was the house that waits. When they were were ready to return, they will. Blake was sure of that as she headed inside to bed. 

Yang and Ruby will be back, but for now, she needed sleep after three all nighters. Hopefully this would be the last time Yang would make her work all nighter and wait. _Hopefully_. 

  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake makes a mistake with Yang's automail but it's too late to fix it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so i'm like a week or so late but i added a bonus chapter end credit scene because this is literally one of my favorite fma scenes with Winry! I'm gonna add more to oneshots to this series so stay tuned, and i hoped you enjoyed this!

Later in the evening, Blake woke up. She slept the entire day after Yang and Ruby left. After working three nights in a row all night, it was pretty much deserved ( _and expected_ ). Blake walked downstairs all the way to the workshop, greeting Maria sleepily. She yawned and ran a hand through her hair, seeing the mess she left on her workbench. 

"Things get so hectic here when Yang comes around," Blake muttered to herself. She started clearing her workbench of miscellaneous metal parts and automail plating. She sorted them into proper bins they belonged to, and sorted her blueprints into a neat pile. As she finished cleaning her desk, she noticed something. Hidden under a tool, she found a tiny screw labeled, "A-08". Blake eyes went huge.

She was never doing rush jobs for Yang again. "Uh Oh," She said nervously. She laughed it off. The vital screw for Yang's arm wasn't gonna do the blonde any harm if she doesn't get too rough with it. She'll worry about the problem later. She was sure that Yang wouldn't be reckless with her arm; after all, it took her years to come back with broken limbs. This was a problem for future Blake. She'll deal with it later. 

But somewhere in Central, Blake had no idea of Yang's current whereabouts. She had no idea that Yang was currently planning to break into an abandoned laboratory. Yang was gonna get into some trouble despite what Blake thought. Yang was _totally_ gonna get hurt while Blake sat in ignorant bliss. Blake was surely in for a surprise, and boy was it sure gonna be a nasty one. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yang: honey, you got a big storm coming.
> 
> as always leave a kudos and a comment maybe?? thank you :D!!

**Author's Note:**

> Okay! So thank you for reading. Pls leave a kudos and maybe a comment? I know a Fullmetal Alchemist au had been done a few times but I really wanted to write one because RWBY and FMA are my fave pieces of media! I hoped you guys like it. I make this is a series of oneshots idk.


End file.
